The holiday season is here, and mobile activity is picking up fast. People are shopping, exploring new apps, and making more purchases from their phones than ever. It’s one of the biggest times of the year for app visibility and engagement—and one of the most competitive. With so many developers pushing updates, discounts, and seasonal content, the apps that stand out are the ones that plan early and optimize every touchpoint of the user journey.
Most Shoppers Turn to Mobile First
Black Friday kicks off the peak rush, but the surge doesn’t slow down until January. The entire holiday period sees elevated mobile search volume, higher install intent, and heavier browsing across the App Store and Google Play. Many seasonal purchases now happen in-app, whether it’s shopping, travel, gaming, gifting, or entertainment.
Users are also much more decisive this time of year. They’re actively looking for deals, comparing apps quickly, and making purchase decisions within minutes—not days. This makes first impressions matter even more. Strong app experiences, fast load times, clean onboarding, and updated product pages all play a role in capturing that demand. Even small improvements to screenshots, descriptions, or messaging can shift conversion rates when traffic is high.
Using In-App Events and Promotional Content
Seasonal events are a simple way to surface timely updates, promotions, and holiday features right when users are in discovery mode. On the App Store, In-App Events help highlight limited-time offers, new content drops, and holiday campaigns directly on the product page and in search results. Regularly refreshing these events can keep the listing dynamic and increase visibility during the busiest weeks.
On Google Play, Promotional Content works the same way by placing sales, feature updates, and announcements directly on the store listing and sometimes even within personalized surfaces. This is one of the most cost-effective ways to get more visibility. Both formats bring traffic to the app without relying on paid campaigns, which makes them especially valuable during peak season when ad costs rise and competition for inventory intensifies.
Improving Push Notifications
The holidays are a high-opportunity moment to grow notification reach. New users are more willing to enable notifications when there’s a clear and immediate benefit. A value-focused prompt—rather than a generic “Allow notifications?” message—helps users understand what they’ll gain.
Many apps see improved acceptance rates when the request is tied to something users care about in the moment, like tracking orders, receiving price alerts, getting rewarded in games, or staying informed about seasonal drops. As install volume rises, even a small lift in opt-in rate can translate into thousands of additional high-intent touchpoints. A stronger notification base means more chances to bring users back throughout the peak period and into Q1.
Apple’s Win-Back Offers
Apple recently introduced a feature that makes it easier to re-engage lapsed subscribers. Apps can now offer returning users a discounted rate for the same In-App Purchase or subscription they previously paid for—something developers have wanted for years.
Here’s how it works: when a former subscriber returns to the App Store product page, the discount can appear automatically, giving them a compelling incentive to re-subscribe with no external prompting. This makes the App Store itself a direct re-engagement surface, not just an acquisition channel.
This update arrives at exactly the right time. The holiday season brings new devices, account migrations, re-installs, and a spike in browsing as users revisit apps they tried earlier in the year. When interest is high and people are already in a shopping mindset, a visible discount can be the push that turns a casual return visit into a paid subscription.
Why This Matters for Subscription Apps
For apps with subscription models—shopping memberships, streaming, productivity tools, fitness apps, and more—lapsed users are one of the highest-value audiences. They’re already familiar with the product and often just need a nudge to re-engage.
Win-back offers reduce friction by removing the need to run retargeting campaigns, email sequences, or third-party promotions. Instead, the offer appears at the exact moment the user is showing renewed intent. With rising acquisition costs and tighter performance budgets, this kind of built-in re-engagement loop is especially powerful.
A Timely Boost for Re-Engagement
Together with seasonal traffic surges, Apple’s new offer gives apps a timely opportunity to reconnect with users and strengthen retention. Whether it’s shopping, streaming, or subscription-based tools, re-engagement built directly into the App Store can help convert casual visitors into returning customers during the busiest and most profitable time of the year.
The holiday season only comes once a year—make the most of it. Turn holiday traffic into long-term users. Contact us today to learn how we can help!
